Clutter, Organization, and Storage

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Desert Life, 01/13/2010

Clutter, Organization, and Storage

You’ve probably been watching stuff accumulate around the house for awhile now; you might have even made a New Year’s resolution to do something about it.  And it probably didn’t help matters any when you received a bunch of new stuff over the holidays!

Today we’re going to take a look at the Where, What, and How regarding clutter.  Realizing there aren’t any right & wrong answers, we’re mostly going to share some ideas (and lots of pictures!)

** Comments Welcome **  Want to share your ideas or opinions?  Click Here to read this e-newsletter online, and use the form at the bottom to leave a comment.

Cleaning up the clutter is a money-maker, too.  Any Realtor who’s ever sold a home knows that organized, clutter-free homes sell much faster, and for more money, than homes filled with ‘stuff’ and stacks of clutter.  Any Buyer who’s been out looking at homes will tell you the same thing.

This family made the most of a small bedroom by using an organized bookshelf and hanging book racks vertically up an otherwise blank wall.

What is clutter?  There are 2 types of clutter – the stuff you don’t need/use anymore (ie: old toys and too-small clothes), and the stuff that doesn’t really seem to have its own place (ie: piles of mail on the kitchen counter.)

from Ikea.com, this office feels pleasant and unassuming, yet offers quite a bit of storage in plain view.

How do I start?

1. One room at a time.  You don’t have to do your entire house all at once.  There are a bazillion different options out there – ranging from single-shelf products to entire systems to organizational consultants.  You’ll find solutions available for any budget and style.  (see the pictures below for ideas and inspiration!)
2. 3 Piles.  Sort everything in the room into 3 piles:  Need it / Keep it, Donate it, and Discard it.  (I’ve read many opinions saying if you haven’t used something within the last year, you probably don’t need to keep it.)
3. Get it Out.  Get the donate and discard items out of the room – that’s the majority of your clutter right there!
4. Add Storage.  Determine where/how you’re going to add storage to the room.  Vertically up the wall?  Ceiling storage?  Is there unused space under the existing furniture?  How about the corners, especially up off the floor?
5. Everything has a place.  And everything in its place.  Once you “clean up”, the room will be well organized – functional and appealing.  Now keep it that way!  Don’t let yourself slip into old habits of creating “leaving paper on the counter” clutter.

Where should I start?  Anywhere!  Every room could benefit with additional organization.  The most obvious candidates are the garage, bedrooms, and closets, but look around the house to see what else is fair game – laundry room, family/living room, kitchen, play-room, patio, side yard, loft, nook, etc.

Need Inspiration?  You’ll find plenty below!  I’ve put together an extensive set of pictures, some from online and some I took in person.  If you have additional ideas, or a success story, please share!

a full-blown man-cave of a garage.  Image courtesy of garageappeal.com

costco.com shows furniture filling space, and being functional, in a nook.

Laundry room, courtesy of ikea.com

good use of shelving and cabinets in living room, from freshome.com

clever use of garage space, northerntool.com

overhead garage shelving, garageappeal.com

bunk beds, or loft beds, allow more use of bedroom floor space for other things.  (ikea.com)

shelves, shelves, shelves.  more than you can shake a stick at!  pictures taken at the local Lowe’s.

closet organizer, via bedbathandbeyond.com

free-standing industrial strength shelving – no drilling!  Great for garage (or mud-room as pictured!)  thanks, containerstore.com

4-shelf corner shelf rack, image courtesy of modernfurniturewarehouse.com

There are a million different styles & colors of storage bins to choose from – Lowe’s, Home Depot, Target, WalMart all have large selections.

a long, shallow container with wheels can help make great use of space under the beds.

Plenty of choices for outside storage, too – maybe for the side yard?  (photo taken at Lowe’s)

Plenty of options for using the vertical space above the toilet, too.  photos via amazon.com, Home & Garden section.

This is a pretty good sampling of the various options available; I have a couple dozen more pictures I’d be happy to share with you if you want to email me.  Hopefully this month’s email gave you some ideas, inspiration, &/or motivation to get started.  And of course you’re always welcome to call if you want to talk about how a particular project might affect your home’s value.  (you can call us for other reasons, too, but that one seems the most topical today!)

Until next month,

Happy January!

Chris & Heather, The Phoenix Agents

at Thompson’s Realty

http://thephoenixagents.com

623-570-9940 Chris

602-999-8831 Heather

Chris Butterworth and Heather Barr are The Phoenix Agents at Thompson’s Realty.  The Phoenix Agents are Realtors in the Greater Phoenix area, who have built a loyal following over the years by offering superior service levels coupled with a low-pressure approach.  You can visit http://ThePhoenixAgents.com online to learn more about Chris, Heather, and the Phoenix-area real estate market.  If you have real estate questions or needs, please contact us anytime; we’d love to hear from you.

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